Sanibel Seashell Update: Blind Pass to Lighthouse Beach

In the last couple of days, the seashells have been rolling in with the surf at Blind Pass Sanibel and a few so far at the lighthouse too. The above photo of a sampling of what we found so you can enjoy virtual shelling ASAP if you can’t be here right now. So go ahead…. click on the photo above and I’ll wait for you so I can show you the rest of the photos. (whistle, hum, whistle….la, la, la….)

Okay, you ready for the rest?

Look at the first photo on the bottom left part of the pic. You see where the yellowish color meets the greenish water? That’s that drop off I was talking about yesterday and where we found most of the better shells (like my ALPHY). This was at Blind Pass Sanibel Sunday afternoon.

Then the water was receding with the low tide and they started washing up on the beach….

Dayna from Sanibel (I’m sorry if I misspelled your name! My notes disappeared) with her big catch of the day… a huge HORSE CONCH. And her daughter!. Congrats!

Mindy from New York was specifically looking for collecting KITTENS PAWS.

There were oodles of them along with COCKLES and JEWELBOXES….

Oooooh, I found a FLAT!

Then we walked the beach by the lighthouse last night and found the PEN SHELLS and double DOSINIAS were littered along the shore. That’s a great sign for great shelling to come! The PEN SHELLS are the first ones to get dislodged out in the gulf after a rough seas so this could mean great shells will wash up the next few days.

Nice LIGHTNING WHELK, huh?

This teeny tiny baby crab was alive and crawling around on this very cool old SHARK’S EYE. Can you believe the color?

This LONG SPINED SEA URCHIN was still alive so he went gently back into the water.

I met 2 great gals from Kentucky looking for WENTLETRAPS Sharon and Renee (friends of HL!). I think the had been picked over by someone else but we still found about 10 wentles and lots of other goodies.

We are having a very dark, rainy day with rumblings of thunder predicted all day so I’ll just wait another day to go shelling and another night to see skies like last night on the beach. I couldn’t decide which photo I like better so I’m posting both.

Beautiful pics! I wish I was there right now. I love the horse conch and that itty bitty crab!

Karen M. from Michigan
on August 30, 2011 at 3:22 pm

Wow beautiful colors in those pictures, Its funny about the pen shells…I think everytime I have been there, there are pen shells and i have had great luck with shelling. I love the huge horse conch…looks bigger than the one i found!

Roxanne Reinhart
on August 30, 2011 at 3:27 pm

Love the photos!! Awesome shelling. I want that horse conch!!

jen lee
on August 30, 2011 at 3:42 pm

What is that pink tool she has ? another type of scoop ? It looks like it has a nice long handle… I’m looking for one like that because I’m tall ! Maybe Sharon or Renee will see this and can point me in the right direction ? ali1867@gmail.com

Susan
on August 30, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Amazing! period

Christine Kieffer
on August 30, 2011 at 4:15 pm

Shelling looks fabulous! The pictures of the sunset are amazing, Pam! I just wish I could enlarge them. Don’t know how to do that. They are simply stunning! Can’t wait to see what comes in the next few days. I covet that Horse Conch! It’s perfect!

Hot Lips
on August 30, 2011 at 5:24 pm

This shout out is for the Shelling Goddess (a.k.a. Pam)

What a huge surprise to see a photo of my friend Renee on the beach. I’m lovin’ it! If I can’t be there enjoying the beaches, seeing such a wonderful person enjoying herself is the next best thing. Thanks for brightening up my day.

Wait for me – I can’t be there until March.
from the weather reports we thought you would be devasted, but there you all are in bathings suits enjoying a beautiful day. of course here in AZ it is 113, with a cool down to 103 by end of week!!!
I love he pen shells, but must wait for a minus 3 tide to go find them.
Love your site – Janet in AZ.

Absolutely fantastic photos and incredible reports of shelling! I love it Pam! And I so miss Santiva! I found a Flat when I was there a couple weeks ago. It’s proudly displayed next to the other one I found so very many years ago when I was on Captiva. I love your page and photos. Don’t ever stop!

Marlene
on August 31, 2011 at 8:53 am

Thanks for saying that out loud! I always have to work really hard to keep my feelings in check and remind myself that I am lucky enough to be planning to attend the Sanibel Shell in March!

Thanks again to Pam for sharing such happy experiences with all of us.

Marlene

Ellen
on August 31, 2011 at 3:51 pm

Waiting for the power to return to our Long Island home after Irene….So glad our Ft. Myers property was passed over this time :)

Cindy Petrick
on September 1, 2011 at 1:59 am

What a great site. Thank you so much for all the info. We live in California and I have always wanted to go to Sanibel. I love shells and warm water. The water in Carmel where we live is 56 degrees! My husband is bringing me there for my birthday in 2 weeks. I can’t wait and I will be studying this site until we get there. Happy Shelling, Cindy